The April issue of The Gerontologist reports on several important studies about direct care workers, starting with the long-anticipated National Nursing Assistant Survey (NNAS).
A paper about the survey, which is based on data from 2004, says it represents “a major advance in the data available about CNAs in nursing homes.” The report lists some of the survey’s major findings and suggests that the data be used for “evidence-based policy, practice, and applied research initiatives to address the CNA workforce shortage and to improve recruitment and retention efforts.”
Among the findings of the NNAS:
• Almost half of all CNAs are members of a minority group;
• Their median hourly wage was $10.04, and almost two-thirds lived on an annual family income of less than $30,000; and
• More than 40% did not participate in their employer’s health insurance plan because they couldn’t afford the premiums.
The April Gerontologist also looks at the causes of high CNA turnover rates from two different angles.
“Leadership Styles of Nursing Home Administrators and Their Association With Staff Turnover” reports that two style of management among nursing home administrators have a strong effect on CNA turnover. By far the highest rates (168% a year) in a broad study of nursing homes nationwide occurred at facilities run by administrators who neither solicited input when they made a decision nor provided staff with information to make decisions on their own. Rates were lowest (44% a year) when administrators led by consensus, soliciting and acting upon input from their staff. “Encouraging contributions from caregivers and granting them the power to make meaningful decisions in their work can be transformative,” the authors conclude.
“Why Do They Stay? Job Tenure Among Certified Nursing Assistants in Nursing Homes” analyzes data from the NNAS and other surveys to see what factors were associated with staying longer on the job. The biggest factors were higher wages, paid time off, and pension plans.
Certain elements of job training and organizational culture and certain characteristics of both the CNAs themselves and the homes and market areas where they worked were also linked to staying longer on the job, but their effect was less dramatic.
Elise Nakhnikian
Communications Director
Direct Care Alliance
